Major League Baseball announced today that the National League has established a new record for
single-season average attendance and seven teams - the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers,
Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies - each set all-time franchise
records for home attendance during the 2008 regular season.

The National League's average attendance of 34,201, spanning 1,289 gates, eclipsed the previous record of
34,064 set last year.

In addition to the aforementioned seven record-setting clubs, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los
Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals, each drew more than three million fans. Both New York franchises
surpassed four million in home attendance.

The 2008 Major League Baseball regular season ended with total attendance of 78,614,880, marking the
second-highest overall single-season total in baseball history. This season's average attendance of 32,539 also
ranks as the second-highest in history. Last year's overall attendance of 79,503,175 (averaging 32,785) remains
a record-high for Major League Baseball.

"This has been a magnificent season and drawing more than 78.6 million fans is a tremendous
accomplishment, given the uncertain economy and the problematic weather our clubs had to endure during
September," said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. "Baseball is more popular today than at any time in
its long history. I commend each of the 30 Clubs for establishing affordable ticket options that have enabled all
fans the opportunity to experience the thrill and excitement of our game. I thank baseball fans everywhere for
their continued support and look forward to another magnificent postseason."

Four of this season's eight postseason teams are making repeat appearances this year - the Chicago Cubs
and Philadelphia Phillies in the National League and the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in
the American. The Tampa Bay Rays are making their first postseason appearance in franchise history after
winning the A.L. East Division Title with a record of 97-65. Tampa Bay's 97 victories are the most wins ever by a
team that had MLB's worst record the previous season, eclipsing Atlanta's 94 wins in 1991. The Milwaukee
Brewers clinched the N.L. Wild Card on the final day of the regular season, securing their first postseason berth
since 1982.

Ten Clubs drew more than three million fans, 15 Clubs drew more than 2.5 million and 23 eclipsed two million.

Seven clubs averaged more than 40,000 per game, while 11 averaged more than 35,000 per game.

The Chicago Cubs set a new single-season attendance by reaching 3,300,200 this year at Wrigley Field,
surpassing the previous record mark of 3,252,462 set last season. In addition to establishing a Wrigley Field
record, the 3,300,200 is the largest single-season attendance mark for any franchise or venue in the history of
the city of Chicago. The Cubs are the only Chicago professional sports team to ever reach three million in
attendance and have now eclipsed three million fans in home attendance in each of the last five seasons,
beginning in 2004. The Cubs join the Dodgers, Yankees, Angels and Cardinals as the only teams to accomplish
this feat over the last five seasons.

The New York Yankees final attendance tally at Yankee Stadium, 4,298,543, was an all-time franchise-high
and an American League record. It marked the eighth consecutive season of increased attendance at the
ballpark. The Yankees became the first Major League franchise to surpass four million tickets sold in four
consecutive years.

The Boston Red Sox set a club record for a ninth straight season with 3,048,250 fans, surpassing the three
million mark for the first time in club history. The Red Sox sold out each of their 81 home games, and have
now hosted 469 consecutive sellouts at Fenway Park.

The Philadelphia Phillies finished the regular season with a franchise-record total attendance of 3,422,583.
The final regular season home game was the 50th sellout at Citizens Bank Park.

The Detroit Tigers established a single-season franchise record for attendance in 2008, drawing 3,202,645
fans to Comerica Park. It marked the second straight season that Detroit exceeded three million fans.

The New York Mets surpassed the four million tickets sold mark for the first time in franchise history. This
marks the third successive year that the Mets have set a club ticket sales record. The Mets drew a
franchise-high 4,042,045 fans to Shea Stadium in 2008, surpassing last season's mark of 3,853,949.

The Milwaukee Brewers set an all-time attendance record of 3,068,458, breaking the previous mark of
2,869,144 set last season and eclipsing the three million mark for the first time ever. The Brewers had a
franchise-record 44 sellouts, including 22 straight from July 10th - September 1st. The previous record of 31
sellouts was set last season.

The Tampa Bay Rays drew 1,811,986 fans to Tropicana Field in 2008, their largest attendance since their
inaugural season total of 2,506,023. The Rays increased their home attendance by 30.4 percent over 2007
and sold out eight games during the 2008 season, doubling the previous record for a single season (four in
2007) and matching the combined total of eight sellouts entering the season.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim finished with a home attendance of 3,336,744, marking the sixth
straight season that the club has eclipsed the three million mark. The 2008 total is the fifth-highest in club
history.

The Minnesota Twins drew a total of 2,302,431 fans in 81 home dates this season, their third-highest total
in club history (3,030,672 in 1988 and 2,482,428 in 1992) and largest since 1992.

The St. Louis Cardinals had their third-highest attendance in franchise history with 3,432,917 fans, marking
the 11th time in team history that they surpassed three million. The Cardinals sold out 40 of their 81 home
dates in 2008.

The Arizona Diamondbacks drew 2,509,080 fans to Chase Field in 2008, which was the highest mark since
drawing 2,519,560 fans in 2004. Arizona has seen an increase in each of the last three seasons.

The Pittsburgh Pirates attracted 129,473 fans for their four-game series against the Mets on August 15th-
18th, setting a record for a four-date series. The Bucs also produced their third-largest crowd in the history of
PNC Park with 39,081 against the New York Yankees on July 10th.

The San Diego Padres drew 2,427,535 fans this season, the seventh-highest single-season attendance in
team history and the fifth consecutive season of drawing at least 2,400,000 (eighth overall).

The Cleveland Indians recorded their 14th season in franchise history of selling more than 2,000,000 tickets,
and the club sold more than 100,000 tickets on five separate weekends.

The Yankees and Mets combined to draw 8,329,177, the Dodgers and Angels combined to draw 7,067,497 and
the Cubs and White Sox combined to draw 5,724,571. The three cities combined drew 21,121,245.
In addition, MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, established a new online ticketing
record for the eighth consecutive year by selling more than 32 million tickets - through September 28th - on
behalf of the 30 Major League Clubs at MLB.com and the individual club sites.

Minor League Baseball set an attendance record for a fifth straight year, closing the 2008 season with
43,263,740, eclipsing the 2007 season total of 42,812,812. Between the two organizations, nearly 122
million fans attended baseball games in 2008.